Vicus Capital Purchases 119 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Vicus Capital increased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 10.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,557,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,695 shares of company stock valued at $943,113 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $289.05. The stock had a trading volume of 419,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,555,001. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $302.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.85.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.92% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $303.71.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.